


An Alliance in the Shadows

by Lily Catts (Borjarnon)



Category: Hololive, holoMyth, hololive English, vtuber
Genre: Comfort, F/F, Gen, Injury, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:46:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Borjarnon/pseuds/Lily%20Catts
Summary: In the backdrop of a dying world, Amelia and Calliope share secrets, but both of them have more emotional scars than they're willing to let on.
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia, Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara, Mori Calliope/Watson Amelia
Comments: 4
Kudos: 87





	An Alliance in the Shadows

In this godforsaken place where time had ceased to exist, Amelia Watson was fighting for her life.

"Get up, so I could knock you down!" The other Amelia said, gloating over her fallen body. She had been careless. Time-traveling to this deserted timeline had gone horribly wrong when one of the alternate Amelias got the jump on her. Her fists had packed a wallop, and she was faster than the other girls that Amelia Watson had fought before.

She was hoisted to her feet by strong hands. Her vision blurred in and out of focus, her brain refusing to acknowledge her own face staring back in a murderous rage.

The elbow to the side of her head sent Amelia reeling, her sense of balance destroyed. Her assailant kicked her in the gut, sending her back to the ground.

Amelia tried to stand up, but a kick sent her flying across the alley. The moon peeked from the blood-red sky, framed by decrepit buildings. To think that thousands of people once lived here in this desolate city. Only the other Amelia's white-hot rage passed for warmth in this dead world.

"Ina. Gura. Calli. Kiara. I lost them all, because of you!" the other Amelia Watson said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Amelia murmured. "How could I be responsible?"

"You damaged the timestream with your actions. You think we're the evil ones here? The Chrono Cabal only wants its due. It wants your head, Watson Prime."

Amelia propped herself up with her elbows. This gibberish again. How could she be responsible for the sad fates that her alternate selves have experienced? Killing her wouldn't fix a single thing. Unless...?

"You think you're the first one to try and kill me?"

"I'm different," other Amelia said. A dark aura spread over her like a deadly haze.

"Heh. That's what they all say," Amelia said.

"Your false bravado won't do you any favors. Any last words?"

Amelia Watson smiled. "Call a reaper."

The other Watson stopped in her tracks. "What?"

"But not for me."

* * *

Calliope Mori crossed through time and space, sensing her friend to be in danger. Materializing near Amelia Watson's proximity, she took a second to recalibrate her senses. The first thing she saw was the bloody mess on the ground.

"What the fuck, Watson?" Calliope said, stepping out of the way of the expanding pool of blood. The fallen Amelia lay spread-eagled with a bullet hole between her unseeing blue eyes.

"Sorry, Calli," Amelia said.  _ Her _ Amelia. Despite the many alternate Amelias running around, Calli was specifically drawn to this one soul. "It was either me or her."

"What exactly happened here?" Calliope was no stranger to violent deaths, but seeing an exact copy of her friend like that was more than a little unnerving.

"I got alerted to this faulty timeline," Amelia said. "Then she ambushed me. I won out in the end, I guess." With difficulty, she reloaded the derringer in her hand, and slipped it inside a holster hidden beneath her skirt.

"No offense, but you look like shit," Calliope said.

"I lived, though. She was strong, but she didn't fight with her brain. Heh." Amelia pointed to her busted forehead. It would've made for a cool gesture, if not for the blood running down her face. "Can you help patch me up? Pretty please?"

Calliope knelt down beside Amelia, checking her injuries.

"I can give you first aid, but I didn't bring a kit with me."

"Say no more, fam," Amelia said, taking out an emergency medical kit from her jacket.

"Oh. Nice of you to be prepared." Calliope took the kit and immediately went to work, stopping Amelia's bleeding first.

"A time traveler's always ready for anything."

Calliope chuckled. "Now if you were just prepared enough to not get your ass kicked."

"These were... extenuating circumstances. Ow!"

"I think you have a rib fracture." Calliope applied the cold pack and pressed it against the affected area. "Sorry, this is all I can do for now. You should get Ina to check on you later."

"I... don't want to make her worry."

"Do you think she'll be happy if you hide this from her?"

Amelia looked at her other self. "Do you think... she'll stay with me if I tell her the truth? That I have a positive K/D ratio when it comes to my other selves?"

Calliope applied a couple of bandages to Amelia's chest in silence.

"Where did you learn all this? You're pretty good."

"I'm a reaper, but I don't like it when people die ahead of schedule," Calliope said. "Too much paperwork. Also, Kiara's pretty clumsy, so knowing some of these things can save us a trip to the hospital or two."

Amelia Watson had an unfortunate image in her mind regarding CPR, but chose not to share it with her reaper friend. "Can I talk to you about something, Calli? This timeline still has about half an hour before it implodes, and I need to rest from that hell of a fight."

"Sure."

Amelia closed her eyes, acutely feeling the pain in her broken ribs. "The other Watson said I screwed up. She was going to kill me to make things right. But we both know that's not how it works. Killing me won't undo whatever happened to her timeline." She took a couple of deep, slow breaths. "She came real close. I really didn't want to kill her, but..."

"I don't think anyone would enjoy killing their alternate self, no matter how they turned out," Calli said, staring at the unraveling sky. This timeline had begun to implode, the fate of all chronological dead ends.

"Am I a bad person, Calli?"

"It was self defense."

"I could've run away."

"And make her come to you instead?"

Amelia thought of the other Amelia getting to Ina and Gura, and shuddered. "I guess not."

"I won't tell anyone," Calliope said. "I'm good at keeping secrets, if nothing else."

"You'd make a good nurse."

Calliope absentmindedly stroked her pink hair. "Thanks, I guess."

"She said you all died in her timeline. She blamed me for it."

"You had nothing to do with this world."

"That’s what I think, too. But if every other Amelia I meet says the same thing... I just don't know. What if I'm the real threat to the timestream? What if my disappearance would solve everyone’s problems?"

"Don't say that!" Calliope snapped.

Future Amelia had told her that she was in the best possible timeline, and that was the reason why the Chrono Cabal was trying to secure it for themselves. All the surviving Amelia Watsons from all the failed timelines were looking to kill or replace her, or worse.

What if they were right, though? What if she was the real villain here?

Amelia took out her pocketwatch. "I can't travel forward in our timeline. Something's preventing me from doing so, which sucks because I can't see what's about to happen. The Watson Luck is a double-edged sword, Calli. If things are going well, then I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Something bad's about to happen soon. I can feel it, and it's killing me. If anything, I want to protect you all from what could happen. I don't care what happens to me, but if you and the other girls get hurt..."

"Stop right there, Watson!" Calliope said. "They're just trying to get into your head. Look at me. We trust you with our lives. Just... learn to rely on us more for a change."

"It's hard, but I'll try."

Calliope held on to Amelia's hand. "Promise me."

"I promise." Amelia allowed her friend's warmth to comfort her. Knowing Calliope Mori had disabused her of the popular notion that death was cold and frightening. To her, death was a well-deserved rest from her mortal struggles — it was a cozy friend's hug for all eternity. But she was not ready to leave her chronal responsibilities just yet.

"One more thing."

"Make it quick, I can feel this world dying."

"I fought a few Amelias who yelled at me for choosing the wrong girl. And I'm sure they're talking about Ina or Gura. But how could I choose? They're both important to me."

"Do you really have to choose?"

"Eh, I didn't take you to be into that, Calli."

Calliope shrugged. "It makes sense, right? I think you three have something good going on, so why settle for anything less?"

"What if they force me to choose?"

"Then talk," Calliope said. "Talk it out, and don't stop until everything's been made clear."

"Thanks, dad," Amelia said, smiling wryly.

"You're wel- no! I'm not your dad. It's just common sense, isn't it?"

"No, it's very on-point for you," Amelia said. "You know, I'm really envious of you and Kiara. You just click together really well."

Calliope blushed. "There's no such thing as a perfect relationship. Even we have our own share of issues. Well, me mostly."

"What's on your mind?"

"Nothing!"

"Come on, you listened to my ramblings, so the least I could do is return the favor."

The reaper sighed. "It's a long story. Maybe when we get back home."

"It's not something you could talk with her?"

"No."

"It's not a third party, is it?"

"Hell no!"

"Okay, I'm looking forward to it." Amelia hugged her knees. She could feel this timeline eroding at a faster rate. The red sky started to unravel, like a monitor turning off in slow motion. "I'm scared, Calli. What if I screw up? What if I turn evil, doom our own timeline, and join the Chrono Cabal? I’m sorry, but I just can't help but think about it."

Calliope squeezed Amelia's uninjured shoulder. "I for one know that you'll do the right thing, no matter what."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll be the one to cut you down," the reaper said gently.

"Ooh. That's hot."

"Don't make it weird, Watson. I'm warning you."

"Remember the pact we made, Calli."

"How could I forget?" When Amelia Watson dies, Calliope Mori would be the one to reap her soul.

"I know you're on hiatus from reaping, so I’m sorry to impose on you."

"If it's you, I'm willing to make an exception. So... for both our sakes, don't die anytime soon. I don't want to give up on this life yet. "

Amelia grinned and held up an arm, flexing it. "I'm a survivor, you know."

_ Until you're not, _ Calliope thought, sparing a glance at the body across them.

"I'm almost ready. Got my device primed and ready to go. Can I just say something, though?"

"Shoot."

"I know there’s something in your mind. Maybe it's Kiara, maybe it's something else, but... just in case, you can talk to me about it. I could give you hugs, too. Just not now, my ribs hurt like hell."

"I'll consider that."

"It's a win-win situation for AmeMori. We're the alliance in the shadows, the Black Ops division of HoloMyth." Amelia held up a fist.

Blushing, Calliope bumped it with her own. "Thanks, Amelia."

"Anytime, dad." Before Calliope could express indignation, Amelia held up her pocketwatch. "See you later, Calli." With the click of the horological marvel, Amelia Watson was gone.

* * *

Calliope took a deep breath, waiting until Amelia's presence completely disappeared from this timeline. She still had something to do before she could leave this world.

She walked to the body on the ground. The other Amelia Watson was still clinging to the last vestiges of life.

Unbeknownst to the detective, Calliope Mori had abandoned her hiatus long ago.  _ Her _ Amelia had left a trail of bodies in her wake, leaving Calliope no choice but to assume the responsibility of providing last rites to all of Amelia Watson's alternate selves.

Each of them all had dreams and regrets. Each of them Calliope sympathized with. In her immortal soul she bore all departed Amelia Watsons' triumphs... and sins.

She summoned her scythe from the aether and liberated the girl's soul from her body.

The disembodied soul of the other Amelia Watson sat up, looked around, and sighed. "Welp, guess I failed."

"So what's your story?" Calliope said.

"Calli..." Upon seeing the reaper, the soul started to cry. "It's really you..."

"Sorry, but I'm not the Calliope you knew."

"I know. She was cuter."

A visible vein pulsed underneath Calliope's temple. "Listen, punk—"

"She was the whole world to me,” the other Amelia said between sobs. “But choosing her led to the bad end, even if I’d given everything to fight fate."

"Choosing... her?"

"I loved her. I was a time-traveling detective—who could be closer to me, than death herself?"

"Guh! Wh-wh-why would you say that, Watson?"

"Because it's true? And even if I was given the chance to redo everything, I'd still choose her."

"Amelia..."

"I'm not  _ your _ Amelia, and you're not  _ my _ Calli. But know that there was one version of Amelia Watson who loved Calliope Mori more than anything in the world. Sorry. I just... I just went mad with grief when I lost her. Most of us alternate Amelias have lost someone."

_ I know, _ Calliope thought, but she dared not share the other Amelias' stories.

The reaper hugged the soul before her. "Hey, it's all right."

The other Amelia hesitated, but returned the embrace. "Really, Calli? Even after everything I've done?"

"I'll keep her on the right path, so you don't have to worry about anything anymore. I swear it on my own name."

"Thank you, Calli. God, you're so cool."

"No more flirting, Watson. I'm already taken."

The other Amelia winked. "Just messing with you one last time."

"I'll take you home."

Amelia Watson smiled through her tears, nearly breaking Calliope's heart. She wasn't the first, and the reaper had a feeling that she would not be the last, either.

**Author's Note:**

> AmeMori... is interesting. I don't interpret it as a romance, but I believe that both of them are willing to die for each other.
> 
> Fun fact: all my stories are set in the same continuity. I almost dropped a Live Again (my multi-chapter TakaMori fic) spoiler here. Go figure.


End file.
